Clippers' Barnes fined, expresses regret for tweet

Los Angeles Clippers forward Matt Barnes turned to Twitter again to express his thoughts. This time, he apologized for his angry tweet that used a racial slur after he was ejected from Wednesday night's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Barnes also was fined $25,000 by the NBA on Thursday for using inappropriate language on Twitter and for failing to leave the court in a timely manner after he was ejected in the second quarter of the Clippers' 111-103 victory, league president of basketball operations Rod Thorn announced.

Barnes came to teammate Blake Griffin's defense when Griffin became tangled up with Thunder forward Serge Ibaka. Barnes shoved Ibaka, and both players were ejected. Griffin ended up with a technical foul.

"I love my teammates like family, but I'm DONE standing up for these n----s! All this s--- does is cost me money!" Barnes tweeted Wednesday night.

The tweet was later deleted. On Thursday, Barnes followed up with his apology.

"I'd like to take a second to apologize to the #LACorganization, my #Teammates & #CoachingStaff & the #ClipFans.. For my actions "cont"

"Not only on the court, but off.. I was completely wrong for pushing Ibaka & then for what I tweeted following the altercation.. "Cont"

"I've been doing this for to long to let my emotions get the best of me.. My poor choice of words & timing do not reflect "cont"

"Who or what I am about.. It was very selfish on my part to make this situation about me instead of my teammates that fought their "cont"

"Hearts out & earned a big win against a tough okc team.. Now I could have took the easy way out & said, "My twitter was hacked" "cont"

"But that's not what I'm about, I except full responsibility for all my inappropriate action last night & I am truly sorry!"

Clippers coach Doc Rivers understood Barnes' frustration.

"I think he's very emotional and down that he got thrown out," Rivers said. "I get that part, but the choice of words, obviously that's not a word I'm a fan of in all venues."

Barnes has been suspended four times for on-court incidents since 2008 and fined numerous times.

His teammates offered their support.

"One of the best teammates I've ever had," Clippers point guard Chris Paul said after the game. "Matt has a big heart. He goes out there and competes every night. Not scared of nothing."